New Delhi, July 13 -- Surviving an illegal detention in Uganda two years ago was harrowing enough, but for billionaire heiress Vasundhara Oswal, Executive Director of PRO Industries, the public's reaction to her imprisonment revealed a deeply entrenched, systemic issue.

When news broke that she was being held on fabricated charges, one of the first questions directed at her parents was not about her safety, but her gender: "Why did you send a girl to Africa?"

"Is that the first comment you say to someone who has just been illegally kidnapped?" Vasundhara recalled in an exclusive conversation with LiveMint. "Why was my gender spoken about? It could have happened to anyone."

The prejudice Vasundhara faces isn't limited to physical danger...